After eight long years, a blindfolded, handcuffed barrister Ahmad Bin Kashem (Arman) was taken out of a secret prison. At that time he could hear the sound of gunshots. His eyes and face were tied tightly, and his breath seemed to be closing. Shortly thereafter, Armaan was pushed from the car and thrown into a muddy pit. For the first time in the last eight years, he got the touch of nature’s light and air. He thought that he was being taken somewhere for the purpose of killing. Because, at that time he did not know that in the face of the mass uprising of the students, his masters were running away after releasing him. And Sheikh Hasina fled the country.
According to the French news agency AFP, the Luxembourg-based media RTL published the interview with Ahmed bin Qassem. There he narrated these breathtaking events.
He thought they would kill him. He did not even know that Sheikh Hasina had fallen just a few hours before she was brought hand and blindfolded. On August 5, after 15 years of dictatorial rule, Hasina fled the country and took refuge in India. On this day, the missing Ahmad Dankam was in that mirror room. No one knew about the secret prison except the army intelligence. Arman said there was no way to communicate with anyone except the prisoners. He was detained in a cell there for eight long years. Detectives followed a strict policy that no one should get any information about the Mirror House.
Armaan said, he could hear the azaan outside from the mirror room. Loud music was played there. Ahmad used to distinguish between day and night by listening to Azan. But he had no clear idea about how many days he had spent there. Only when the music stopped did he hear the cries of the other prisoners. He said, slowly I understand that I am not alone there. I could constantly hear the cries of other prisoners there. Perhaps the prisoners could not bear the torture there and screamed.
According to Human Rights Watch, Hasina has disappeared more than 600 people since coming to power in 2009. People had no idea about Hasina’s secret prison until 2022, when a media report about the mirror came out. The Hasina government denied it after the report on the mirror was published. Apart from this, they were also denying the issue of disappearance. At the time, it was said that those who went missing had drowned in the Mediterranean while crossing illegally to Europe.
Armaan said that one night some people in white clothes entered their house and took him away from his family. He was dragged down the stairs and into a car. He said, I could not even dream of this terrible situation. I did not realize that I would be picked up like this a few days before my father’s execution. ‘I kept telling them do you know who I am? I have to be there father to handle the case.’ Mir Kasem Ali was executed four weeks after Arman was taken away.
He was trying to find his way home at night after Armaan was dumped in a muddy drain. Later he finds a hospital established by his father and goes there and introduces himself. A staff member at the hospital identified him and contacted his family. Armaan came to know about the recent student movement after listening to the people present at the hospital. As a result, he was released. Armaan said, I was released because of the youth of the country. When I see these young people leading the country, I can be sure of the right destiny of Bangladesh. Armaan has returned to his family but his mental condition is still disturbed, his family said. Her elder daughter was four years old and younger daughter was three years old when Armaan went missing.
Bangladesh’s recently ousted leader, Sheikh Hasina, harshly suppressed dissenters to prolong her power. Disappearances and murders became a common practice during his reign. In 2016, Jamaat leader Mir Qasem Ali’s son Barrister Ahmad bin Qasem Arman went missing. He was taken to Hasina’s secret prison known as ‘Ayanaghar’. Ahmad, 40, told AFP news agency that he had not been exposed to natural light and air in eight years.
Arman’s father, Jamaat leader Mir Kasem Ali, was executed by the Hasina administration in 1971 for crimes against humanity. Although the government has said that the leader of Jamaat will be sentenced to death on charges of anti-humanity, there is a lot of disagreement about this. Some analysts say Mir Qasem Ali and other Jamaat leaders were executed by judicial killings to quell anti-Hasina sentiment. No international observer team was involved in the court’s proceedings at that time to observe whether Kasem Ali was guilty or not. Barrister Arman came to Dhaka from London to fight his father’s legal proceedings. He was 32 years old then. At that time various procedural errors and judicial biases of the tribunal were reported by the media and various human rights organizations.